A big shout-out to MEW for these listings. FRIDAY 21 OCTOBER As Far As I Can WalkDirected by Stefan ArsenijevicEuropean Film Festival 2022Hosted by Sivubuhle Media and RU School of Journalism and Media StudiesThe documentary tells the stories of African migrants through the lens of Serbian myths@ Amazwi, 25a Worcester Street14:00Sivu Gaba 0720797839Reserve a seat: https://forms.gle/NRFsxjs9VnmEajLx5 Live Music with LeroyNeo Soul, Afro Jazz, and PopDrinks specials@ The Pothole and Donkey, 123 High Street19:00 – 21:00Free entry (Very popular. Arrive early.) SATURDAY 22 OCTOBER Parkrun5km run or walk. Family-friendly. Dogs on leads are welcome.@ The Bot Gardens, Lucas AvenueRegister online: https://www.parkrun.co.za/register/08:00Free Bedford Country…
Author: Rod Amner
By ROD AMNER A couple of months ago, I took a hike at Burnt Kraal with a companion. Sensing there was some beguiling valley bushveld beyond the usual footpaths, we decided to hike north along a dirt road. We had no idea we were entering forbidden territory because most signs warning that access to this area was prohibited had been torn down and obscured by the thicket. An ‘unhinged’ warning sign. Photo: Rod Amner After a half-hour walk/run, we found some derelict farm buildings overlooking a disused tennis court, a half-empty dam and some exquisite vistas. Being humans of the…
By LIKHAPHA THAATHAA To commemorate World Mental Health Day and Mental Health Month, Eastern Cape Health MEC Nomakhosazana Meth unveiled a R29-million, newly-upgraded child and adolescent facility at Fort England Hospital in Makhanda on Thursday, 13 October. The 14-bed ward will provide rehabilitative services for mentally challenged children between 13-17 years. It will also render inpatient services for acute patients and admit non-acute patients for diagnostic purposes. The facility also has the potential to be a training institution for child psychiatrists which will benefit the province in producing more child psychiatrists. Nomankosazana Meth said she was “over the moon” that…
By ROD AMNER Makana Municipality has resumed its ‘normal’ refuse collection schedule after weeks of disruption caused by the mechanical breakdown of its fleet of compaction trucks. Makana spokesperson Anele Mjekula said one compaction truck had been repaired. While the collection will occur according to the regular schedule, residents should expect delays as the municipality worked around the clock to fix the rest of the fleet, Mjekula said. Some residents dumped their refuse outside the City Hall in protest earlier this month after refuse trucks failed to arrive at their homes. Household refuse was dumped outside City Hall by frustrated…
By ROSEMARY VAN WYK SMITH October 2 was World Quaker Day. Who are the Quakers, and do they exist in Makhanda/Grahamstown? For many people, the only Quakers they have heard about are in the pictures on the Quaker Oats package. But forget those Quakers – they are part of another story. Quakers (also known as the Religious Society of Friends) grew out of a Movement in England in the seventeenth century. Many of those who joined the Movement went as Pilgrims to the USA, where they established a strong base in the Eastern States. The Movement grew out of disenchantment…
LEONIE JOUBERT is an independent science writer recently named as one of Rhodes University Journalism & Media Studies’ 50 distinguished alumni as it celebrated half a century of journalism training. This is an edited version of her acceptance speech. The media — the Fourth Estate — has failed in its role: It has not raised the alarm of climate collapse in time or critiqued the system that allows a few to profit at the expense of all. The year 1972 was an important one. It was important because that’s the year society was warned that we couldn’t have infinite growth…
By ROD AMNER A second of the seven dangerous inmates who escaped from the Makhanda Correctional Service facility early on Tuesday morning has been re-arrested following an extensive manhunt. On Wednesday evening around 10 pm, a joint task team between the SAPS and Correctional Service officers re-arrested a second inmate, Simba Masinga, in the bush near Committees Drift, according to Eastern Cape police spokesperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli. Late Tuesday, Bennet Kwarrie was re-arrested in Bloemfontein after his 4 am escape from the prison and is in police custody, Five of the seven escapees are still at large. Meanwhile, News24…
By PHILIP MACHANICK President Ramphosa recently said, “You have been talking about state capture and, in fact, we are finding that the real capture is happening at local government level, where certain interests just capture the entire municipality and they purportedly then provide every service.” It’s all very well to say that, but why is it happening? He also said, “The Auditor-General is not writing fiction novels. They follow what really happens; therefore, you should take them seriously.” Here in Makana, our last audit was a travesty, yet the Municipal Manager claims no one is to blame! So clearly, failure…
The Friends of the Library Lecture series continues on Monday, 31 October, with a talk by Prof Julia Wells entitled “The secret African education of Thomas Stubbs, an 1820 settler”. In his Reminiscences, Thomas Stubbs leaves only a few clues about his deep exposure to African people, revealing surprising levels of friendship and cooperation. Upon arriving from England in 1820, his family settled at the Clay Pits, which drew a steady stream of Xhosa visitors. As a 12-year-old boy, he grew to love the freedom of the Fish River bush, learning all about it from the people who knew it…
By ROD AMNER Makana Municipality water bosses and Democratic Alliance (DA) Ward 8 councillor Cary Clark have appealed to residents to stop filling their private water tanks with municipal water during ‘on days’. Makana Infrastructure director Asanda Gidana said the filling of tanks was illegal and upset equitable supply, especially to high-lying areas under current water restrictions. The city’s next ‘water on’ day is Tuesday, 18 October. Meanwhile, water from Howieson’s Poort Dam is still not being pumped to the Waainek Water Treatment Works due to a persistent leak on the joint of a repaired section of the water pipe.…